90 Rod Smith Intern Memphis, 2008 Third Season BIO Former Tiger defender Rod Smith is in his third season working an internship with the football team. Smith lettered from 2004-06, and was a standout for the Tiger defense before having his playing career cut short following a severe neck injury in the 2006 Arkansas State game, where he fractured his C5 vertebrae and required surgery. Smith was back on the sidelines just four days after surgery to support his teammates. He continued to join his team at practices and workouts through the 2007 season. Marcus Bell Intern Memphis, 2010 Third Season BIO Zac Barton Graduate Assistant Bloomsburg, 2006 First Season BIO Zac Barton joined the Tiger Football staff in January 2011 and serves as an offensive graduate assistant. Barton previously served as the defensive line coach at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2010. A native of Berryville, Va., Barton received his bachelor's degree in history from Bloomsburg University in 2006 and earned his master's in educational leadership with an emphasis in sports management from Winona State University in 2009. While at WSU, Barton was a GA coach and worked with the defensive line and special teams. Marcus Bell joined the Tiger staff in fall of 2009, and serves in an internship role. A former Tiger, Bell played in 42 career games at the U of M and made 20 starts on defense. Bell lettered from 1997-2000 and was the Tigers' fifth-leading tackler as a senior logging 60 stops and four sacks. For his efforts in 2000, he was named an All-Conference USA honoree. For his career, Bell totaled 209 tackles, including 135 solo stops and 10 sacks. He was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week twice in his career. Wes Turner Graduate Assistant Georgia Southern, 2006 Second Season BIO Reyn Willis Graduate Assistant East Carolina, 2009 First Season BIO Reyn Willis joined the Tigers right at the start of fall camp and works with the offense. No stranger to Conference USA, Willis lettered two seasons as a wide receiver at East Carolina (2008-09) after transferring from Alabama. Willis totaled 151 yards and one touchdown on nine catches at ECU. He played 26 career games for the Pirates, also logging time with the special teams unit. Willis was part of ECU's back-to-back C-USA championship seasons, and helped his team to two appearances in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. 2011 Memphis Football Experience Wes Turner joined the staff in 2010 as a defensive graduate assistant after spending three years on the coaching staff at Georgia Southern. At Georgia Southern, Turner served as a defensive assistant coach working with the defensive backs. In 2009, the Eagles defense averaged 6.2 TFL and 1.9 sacks per game. The defense had two players named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team and one to the All-Conference first team. Turner graduated in December 2006 with a bachelor's degree in general studies from Georgia Southern.
